Word: goldings
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...victory is sweet for the U.S. team and for Phelps. "We haven't won that relay in the last 20 years," said Reese. "This was a tough one to win, but those are always the best ones to win." For Phelps, who swam the opening leg, it means his gold medal count now stands at two, a fact that helps explain his almost primal roar when Lezak finally came to the wall. And things may get even easier: in his remaining events, Phelps is either the world record holder or owns the fastest time this year. His closest challenges...
...Chinese led from the start. In the second of six dives, Lin and Huo racked up five perfect 10s in the synchronicity category. Impressive, but not quite as dominating as in the 2007 World Championships when the Chinese pair won gold by 22 points, an almost unheard of margin. The Chinese men's win came a day after their female compatriots, Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia, nabbed gold in the synchronized 3m springboard event...
...That early cultivation has ensured diving supremacy for the People's Republic. But the impact of thousands upon thousands of dives has left many Chinese divers with permanent eye injuries. After detaching a retina, Hu Jia, a Chinese gold medalist in Athens, told the Chinese press that he would nonetheless dedicate himself to striking gold in Beijing "unless my eyes are really blind." He ended up missing the 2008 Olympic squad because of injury...
...Once divers enter the Chinese sports system, any perceived wavering in dedication to the sport can elicit heavy punishment. After winning gold in Athens, divers Guo Jingjing (who won a gold on August 10) and Tian Liang were publicly chastised for devoting time to commercial activities without prior approval from sports bureaucrats. Tian did not apologize for his alleged infraction. He was summarily expelled from the national team. Guo, however, made a tearful public mea culpa, saying, "I belong to the country...
...loyalty. The comely diver is China's most celebrated female Olympian, and that has translated into more, officially approved lucrative advertising contracts. (The Chinese state sports system makes sure to keep a chunk of her endorsement revenue.) On August 17th, Guo will defend her second Olympic gold, this time in the individual 3m springboard event...